Racine Municipal Court Judge and longtime attorney Mark Nielsen made official his candidacy for the office of Racine Circuit Court Branch 10 Judge today. Racine County voters will choose two new judges next spring as both Branch 5 and Branch 10 Circuit Court positions will be up for election. Nielsen is the only announced candidate for Branch 10, which is an open seat due to the announced retirement of Richard Kreul.

Nielsen, 57, is a graduate of Park High School, UW-Parkside and Harvard Law School. He served as an assistant District Attorney in Racine under Dennis Barry before going into private practice with Schwartz, Tofte & Nielsen, Ltd., where he has been for thirty years.
Since 2006 Nielsen has also been the judge of the Racine Municipal Court. The Racine Court presides over 14-15,000 cases per year, largely dealing with non-criminal violations. Judge Nielsen has focused his court on promoting attendance and behavior in the schools. He regularly holds court in the high schools.

In addition to his service as a judge, Mark Nielsen has been a circuit court commissioner for twenty five years, and he currently serves as the chair of the Supreme Court’s Ethics Committee locally.   

Nielsen serves as a State Bar arbitrator of attorney-client disputes, and teaches evidence and procedure to judges and attorneys.

“Fairness and hard work are the defining characteristics of a good judge. I hope I have demonstrated both over the last six years as Judge of the Racine court. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of this county in a broader role for the next six years.”

Nielsen filed papers to run for the seat in November, and has collected more than the signatures needed to place his name on the ballot. He will file the nomination papers in Madison by Dec. 23.